A geese management program for Bristol parks will be among the topics considered by the Board of Park Commissioners at its meeting Wednesday, April 17.
“I have a lot of questions, not the least of which is, who is going to pay for this?” board chair Bob Fiorito said in response to an email Monday.
“I am sure that none of this is a one and done, project,” he added. “I do not believe that I nor the board has enough information yet to vote Wednesday.”
The vote would be in regard to a geese management program that would include rounding up and euthanizing the geese during part of the year when they molt and are grounded. The plan is available with the meeting materials located by clicking here.
Fiorito said he has received a manual from an advocacy group, Friends of Animals, which proposes an alternative to the euthanization program. (Note: One of the members of the group had a letter to the editor addressing the issue published in TBE on Monday.)
The subject has attracted hundreds of visitors to TBE and fostered a debate on Facebook.
The current plan as described in the meeting materials would be retroactive to April 1, this year, through March 31, 2025. It would include two egg/nest treatments, or egg addling visits, where eggs in the nest are shaken, ending gestation; and two to three dispersal or removal visits.
Dispersal visits would include pyrotechnics, the use of remote-control vehicles, physical activities and other non-lethal methods. Removal visits would include live capture and euthanization of the geese off site.
Among the park properties where the program would be used are Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Park, Page Park Pond and Pine Lake.
A short history of the city’s efforts to deal with the geese population is included in the proposed plan. Bristol Parks have used swan decoys, dogs and signage to reduce the geese population, according to the proposal.
From 2017 t0 2019, the use of dogs yielded temporary results, but the cost was prohibitive, at $14,720 over two years.
Since 2021 and currently, signs informing people not to feed the geese were posted with little effect.
Swan decoys resulted in temporary success from 2022 to 2023, but the geese apparently have gotten used to them.
Costs for geese management program under consideration are estimated a $3,365, annually.
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